


What's Our Ship Name?

by chilly_flame



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Tumblr Prompt, mentions of kara/james - Freeform, or something like meta, post-Season 1, this is pretty meta
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-05-01
Updated: 2016-05-01
Packaged: 2018-06-05 13:48:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6706765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chilly_flame/pseuds/chilly_flame
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kara accidentally stumbles on a brand new universe of creativity one day on the internet, and it changes her perspective on the world, and on Cat Grant.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What's Our Ship Name?

**Author's Note:**

> So sometime in the last two weeks, an unsuspecting tumblr user posted a prompt about Kara discovering fanfiction of Cat Grant and Supergirl. Now, that post appeared on my app for a split second before it refreshed, so I have NO IDEA WHOSE PROMPT THIS IS. Someone please advise and take credit for this magnificent idea! Because it was definitely not me. Anyway, I hope this story does it justice.
> 
> Thanks so much to Lola for the read through and the help with everything. New fandoms always make me nervous.

There’s nothing like waking up on a Saturday with nothing to do, no emergencies to worry about, no lives to save (yet, anyway), no plans for the evening. Tomorrow she’ll make brunch for the family, but she’d gone shopping for everything last night, so her whole day is filled with a wealth of possibility.

She glances over at her bedside table, eyebrow arching at the image of herself on the cover of yet another Catco Magazine. Cat had asked for a second profile a couple of months before, shortly after her promotion, and Kara wondered if secretly Cat felt like Supergirl owed it to her now that she had a new job title (digital editorial coordinator of the Catco Magazine website) and office to boot. (Though they've never talked about it, she assumes Cat knows. They both play dumb, and it seems to work.) In any case, Kara had agreed to the story, and they’d spent their hour together, Kara in her supersuit, Cat sipping the unusual choice of port wine, on the balcony of Cat’s office one late Thursday night. They’d talked about Kara’s brush with her dark side, followed by the near-disaster of Myriad. Cat hadn’t delved into personal details, and for once, Kara hadn’t given anything of consequence away. 

Now her face is on the cover of the magazine homepage that she works on every day. Her particular part of the org chart is box that makes up a department of four, reporting to the Editorial Lead, alongside a sales coordinator and another junior editor with additional expertise in design. They make a good team.

At first she’d felt a little guilty to have an office all to herself, even one without windows near the noisy, busy elevator bank. No one else she worked with had their own offices; they were all in cubicles one floor down, but then again, all of them were afraid of Cat, and therefore they had total respect for Kara and the job she’d done for so long. She’d made friends with everyone on the broader digital staff, and so far she felt like she was really fitting in.

Each weekend since she’d settled on her new position, she spent one hour checking out the competition. On the other hand, this week she really wants to see the reaction to the story that had gone to print the past Tuesday. She showers, dresses, and picks up a breakfast burrito and a dozen crullers before settling down at her desk and opening her computer. She finishes off the burrito as she checks her email, and downs the first cruller after perusing the news of the morning. 

Next stop: Google. She types the following words into the search bar: Cat Grant Supergirl latest story updates. The first result she gets is puzzling: 

_Cat Grant/Supergirl - Supercat Fic Recs: the Stories that Made Me Believe_

She frowns, and checks the next one.

_Super Supercat Recs - When You Need Your Supercat Fic Like, Yesterday_

She has no idea what she’s looking at. The third result is:

_Supercat Fanfic (RPF): When I Fall, You Fly - Cat Grant/ Supergirl - by supergirlisgayaf_

Kara finally relents and clicks on the third option, because she has no idea what she’s looking at. She lands on a tumblr page, and the entry is a simple text file that has a short description and a link to something called AO3:

_Est rel Supercat: things are going smoothly till Supergirl takes a hit from alien of the week. Smutty hurt/comfort for those of us who want to see Cat in charge._

Still frowning, Kara is unable to stop herself. When she clicks on the link, a website called archiveofourown opens, and Kara scrolls down through some descriptive text till she stumbles on something… odd. 

_Cat stands on the balcony, staring off into the night. She is waiting for something, and she’s not sure if she’ll get it, but she has always prided herself on being a patient woman._

“Uh, I don’t think so,” Kara mumbles to herself. What the hell is she even reading?

_She sips from her tumbler of Diet Coke and--_

“Diet Coke? Ha!” Kara smirks. 

_\--hears the rustle of fabric behind her. She doesn’t flinch, eagerly anticipating the next move. It comes only a few seconds later, when hands rest on her tense shoulders. Strong fingers knead her sore muscles and Cat groans in pleasure--_

Kara exhales slightly at this, against her will imagining Cat Grant actually groaning in pleasure. She bites her lip.

_\--and asks, “What took you so long?”_

_“Sorry, I got held up at work,” her companion mumbles, lips brushing against Cat’s ear._

Kara shivers. She’s starting to feel warm and squirmy inside.

_“That’s what you always say,” Cat replies, turning gently in the embrace. She smiles up at the angelic features of her secret lover, the only one who truly understands what it means to be one of the most powerful women in the world._

_Supergirl chuckles slightly--_

Kara’s eyes bulge.

_\--and leans in to press their lips together in a soft, tender kiss--_

Kara breathes out hard, jumping when she realizes she’s just partially frozen the corner of her screen with her freeze breath. She rears back, shoving the computer away from her so hard it flies off the desk. “What the hell?” she cries, her breath still coming out in a cold stream, causing the temperature in the room to drop at least ten degrees. “What the hell is that?”

She feels totally incapable of controlling her reaction, and rushes to the nearest window. Throwing it open, she shoves her head outside into the summer heat and exhales the ice into nothing, trying to calm herself with each beat of her heart. It takes over a minute, but finally she’s able to breathe normally, and she returns to her desk. 

Her computer is still on, and doesn’t appear damaged where it rests on the floor. She doesn’t know whether to be happy about that or not. “What the hell?” she whispers, staring accusingly at the white screen and black letters. Should she even look at it again?

She paces the room. She has a root beer. She eats another cruller. Then one more. All the while, she tries not to stare at that screen, wondering what other craziness might lurk in the hidden corners of the internet. 

Shaking herself free of the discomfort, she laughs aloud, hoping the sound will distract her from this sensation. Decision made, she picks up the computer and returns it to the desk, rolling her eyes. It’s just some weird thing someone wrote, she thinks. It’s literally nothing.

She moves the mouse to hover over the back arrow, but somehow, she hesitates. After blinking once, twice, then again, she taps the down arrow key a few times, just to see, just to find out a little more--

_Cat shudders when Supergirl rucks the skirt up her toned thighs and doesn’t even bother sliding down her panties. Instead, she tears them off, and in moments there are two fingers inside her, curling and reaching as Cat gasps for breath. “Oh, God, Supergirl, yes!” She reaches down to touch own her clit and Supergirl herself can’t suppress her groan._

_“Cat, you are the hottest woman I’ve ever seen, on this world or any other,” Supergirl mouths into her neck, biting just hard enough to mark her skin, and Cat holds on, riding that hand right into an earth-shattering orgasm--_

“Oh my God!” Kara screeches, her face blazing with heat, her mouth filling with saliva, and her thighs rubbing together. She just read a sex scene about herself and her boss, and oh, Rao but it was so bizarre and confusing and upsetting, right? And oh shit, there’s one more problem: she’s turned on. 

She is totally, completely turned on. 

Her heart pounds with excitement, and when she shuts her eyes, she tries to forget, but instead she sees a vision of Miss Grant, on the balcony, sauntering toward her while unbuttoning her blouse, staring at her in that intense way that she has sometimes. Kara imagines Miss Grant biting her lip as her lingerie comes into view, and in reality, Kara claws at her own hair, wishing she had never, ever woken up this morning.

She slams the computer shut.

\---

Six hours later, she returns from an extended flight. She checked in briefly with Alex before heading west, chasing the sunrise across the sky. 

Thirty minutes later, she’s showered again (a long shower, one that did not involve imagining the way water would slip down Miss Grant’s alabaster skin, no sir) and the takeout arrives. Her delivery man can hardly carry everything, and it’s good that Kara got a raise with her new job. Cat had said there wouldn’t be more money, but she lied, because when Kara did the math she got a 12% bump. Plus, now she’s in the bonus pool, so if Catco meets their revenue goals, she has a chance for another 10% at the beginning of next year.

If Kara keeps putting in flight time like this, she’ll devour the entirety of her new cash flow. Literally.

The closed computer screen seems totally innocuous from this angle. Maybe she can just shut that browser window and move on from this mistake. It’s what any sane person would do. Close the window, and watch Netflix instead, because she really wants to get started on “Person of Interest.”

She’s actually nodding to herself, believing that she will start her life over again in short order, until the moment she lifts the laptop lid and types in the password. _missGrant1967_. She grits her teeth and pretends like everything is normal, because it is, isn’t it? 

But then the screen flashes with its black and white text. Kara sees the words _kiss_ , and _hold_ , and _adoration_ , and she knows that nothing will ever be normal again.

\---

Six more hours later, Kara has eaten all the Chinese she ordered, plus a pizza, plus the chocolate cake she was saving for tomorrow’s brunch dessert. 

She has also read the vast majority of stories dedicated to her fictional relationship to one Cat Grant. 

The only fact to come out of it all is that not a single story’s author suspects that Cat’s former assistant is, in fact, Supergirl.

She’s read the cute ones, where they fly around National City after some feat of derring do. She’s read the dramatic ones that involve some sort of dangerous rescue of Cat from the clutches of an evil alien, usually Livewire. (Those were a little close to home, if she’s honest with herself. Since Cat’s multiple rescues from Leslie had been in the news, their oddly large collection of fans had a lot of detail to work with.) She’s read the romantic ones, which usually involved some sort of declaration of love in public, which Kara definitely cringed over.

And she’s read the sexy ones. Those are the ones that she accidentally lingered over longest, because the moment someone else wrote about her lips touching Cat’s, Kara could think of nothing else. 

Nothing but the lean lines of Cat’s body, the shape of her mouth, the shifting color of her eyes. The curve of her breasts beneath those tight dresses, the hourglass of her waist and hips and thighs. 

She sighs in near agony, so wet between her legs it’s embarrassing. She’s resisted touching herself, because it’s weird to want to masturbate over the thought of her boss. There are lines that should not be crossed, and that’s one of them. Obviously. 

Then again, the lines were crossed about twelve hours ago, when first she read someone else’s fantasy of Kara pressing her hands between Cat Grant’s legs and making her come.

Kara flushes hot again, and rubs a hand against her forehead. 

“This is fine, I’m going to be fine. Nothing is different.”

Except it is.

She has no more stories to read; she’d gone through the entire list of 479 stories dedicated to their “pairing.” Some were fine, others less so, but some were strikingly well written. The authors all had to create an entire backstory for their version of Supergirl, and while most of them were totally off target, a few insightful authors had tapped into the emotional wellspring that Kara often drew from as an orphan of a dead planet. She has no suspicion that the authors know or had even met Cat, even though quite a few wrote her as abrasively as Cat can often be. None of the habits she had were included, but others were--somehow the Diet Coke thing had become something called “fanon,” as was the idea that Cat wanted to dominate Supergirl... sexually. Kara wasn’t sure about that, it it had certainly made for some fascinating reading, to say the least. 

Now Kara is plumbing the very deep depths of the tumblr community, where there are gifs of their public interactions, of Kara’s rescues, videos of Cat’s on-air and on-line speeches about Supergirl, and photos of them at various points. Kara had no idea who took the photos, or who had published them; most of the time the attribution had been stripped off. It was interesting to see herself and Cat from this vantage point--they seemed to gaze at one another quite often. How had she never noticed that during their interactions? Cat’s expression during the second rescue from Livewire was practically worshipful, and Kara’s returned glances were not exactly just friendly. All of a sudden it seems obvious how their tiny legion of “shippers” had been created.

They look at each other like they like each other.

Maybe like they like-like each other. 

Or maybe Kara likes Cat, and Cat likes Supergirl. Or maybe she likes her because she wants her to marry her son, or she doesn’t care at all personally and just has a good game face. Cat does tend to get threatened often, so it would make sense she’d want to have a connection who is a superhero to do the rescuing.

Or maybe this whole thing is just a big dumb nothing that has taken up an entire day of Kara’s life, and she just needs to focus on the reality of her universe and not some made-up fantasies of a bunch of people she’s never met. That’s probably the right thing.

She closes the computer and puts on her supersuit. Looks like she needs to stay busy tonight; there must be some cats up trees or something to keep her occupied.

\---

When Kara goes to sleep that night, long after 1am, she has some dirty, dirty dreams. 

The stories seem to activate her libido in a way unlike any she’s experienced. Her sex life has historically been... not great. She’s slept with one guy, twice, and she doesn’t count the encounter that ended with her date puking before things got very serious. The one she’d lost her virginity to was an older college friend who made a pass, and Kara figured that it was as good a time as any to get it over with. He, on the other hand, turned out to not be interested beyond “a good lay,” and she was apparently not a very adventurous partner. 

She hadn’t been very inspired, nor had she been very interested, but he’d been attractive, and he was strong and fit, so she’d been less concerned about hurting him than she would be about someone else. It was cursory and quick, both times (the night of, and later the same night). She had been so nervous for multiple reasons--mostly because she was trying hard not to do anything too much or too hard--so it was a bust. 

Then she’d met James, and she’d definitely been interested. Very interested. Then he’d been interested, and they’d made a good go of it. He’d been exactly what she wanted, right at the start, and he stayed that way for a bit, until he just… wasn’t. During their six weeks of truncated dates and 15 minute work lunches, Kara had realized that they were good friends, and that despite their chemistry and mutual affection, things just never really progressed. And when he told her one night that he wasn’t certain things were going anywhere between them, she took the planet’s largest sigh of relief, and smiled. His eyebrows went up in shock, and she laughed, and his shoulders dropped back to where they should have been, low and relaxed and strong. She’d reached out a hand, knowing that as difficult as it would be for them to go back to being what they were before, it would be worth it. 

She was with him when he called Lucy, who agreed to a Skype session. Against her better judgment, Kara stuck her face right into the frame after less than a minute. Lucy’s smile had faded until Kara declared that Lucy and James were absolutely right for each other, and she apologized for ever coming between them. James had given her the sideeye, and Kara realized that she’d probably stuck her foot in it. She’d left them in peace for a few minutes, only poking her head back into his living room when she started hearing gentle laughter in both their voices. (She did not eavesdrop. Not at all.) 

So James is off the market, again, and Kara is still single, and not dating. And Winn, well, Winn is still one of her best friends. She loves him, and that’s good. It’s enough. 

But Cat? Kara hasn’t thought about Cat sexually. At least, not in relation to herself. She admires her beauty, her figure, her brain, her strength, her complete lack of fear in almost every situation, and more. Before tonight, it just hasn’t been part of her thought process.

When she wakes on Sunday, everything is different. Her dreams were all of Cat. Cat on her desk. Cat in her kitchen, and Kara’s kitchen. Cat on the balcony (a favorite location in the fanfic). Cat in her arms, as they fly. Cat naked, and writhing, and coming, again and again. All by Kara’s hand. Not to mention tongue, and other body parts. Kara had more orgasms in her induced sleep than she has in the last six months combined. It’s unnerving to imagine someone in such a totally new light, so instantaneously. 

She never should have searched for herself online. 

Remembering she ate yesterday’s chocolate cake, Kara calls the local bakery for a replacement, and when she realizes they’re closed, she whips up a boxed cake and canned frosting, hoping no one will notice the difference. She sets out all her ingredients for the frittata and potatoes and baguettes and fruit, getting down to work. Brunch is at 10:30, and Lucy, James, Alex, Vasquez, J’onn, and Winn will be in attendance, so she can’t disappoint them by screwing up.

It keeps her mind focused for about twenty minutes. Fortunately, guests start arriving as soon as the frittata is in the oven, so she’s saved from returning to her computer to see if any new information has surfaced in the past nine hours. 

Once everyone arrives, Kara is able to concentrate on her main goal: serving a delicious brunch. No one notices that the potatoes turn out a little burnt, or that the toast isn’t as perfectly done as it usually is. Everyone crows about the frittata, and only after the pan is decimated that Kara realizes she’d left out two ingredients that are still sitting on the counter, unchopped. No one else notices, although Alex glances at her a little oddly now and then after Kara punches herself in the eye accidentally. She’d laughed just a little too loud, probably, but it’s too late to worry about that now. 

The cake goes over smashingly, because Duncan Hines is never a bad idea. By 2, everyone has had enough mimosas and food and sugar to keep them minorly comatose in her living room, so she takes a moment to herself in the bathroom. Once she emerges, Alex is there, frowning.

“What’s up?” she asks, and it’s not a question. It’s a demand, really.

“What do you mean?” Kara replies, shoving her glasses higher on her face. “Everything’s great. Obviously. Ha ha. Didn’t you like the brunch?”

“Yeah, but I know you bought a cake from Simply Cakes two days ago, and that is not the cake that we just ate. Not that there’s anything wrong with a boxed cake, but it’s not what I expected, which means you ate it yesterday for some reason. And I want to know what that reason is.”

“Ha ha,” Kara says again, trying to keep herself as relaxed as possible. “I was just, you know, super hungry. I did some rescues last night and wanted a midnight snack.”

Alex tilts her head. “I saw five empty Chinese cartons and a pizza box in the trash. Spill, little sister, or I’ll put you in a headlock.”

“Why are you going through my trash?” Kara barks, annoyed. “It’s none of your business what I ate. I’m perfectly healthy. Got lots of sun yesterday and rescued four cats and one lizard last night, before taking care of that car crash on the bridge so traffic wouldn’t back up. That’s a night of good work, if you ask me.”

Alex stares at her. “This is not the end of this conversation, got it?” She turns and stalks away, and Kara slumps against the side of the wall, relieved.

People mostly stick around watching basketball on tv for a while, and there’s a halfhearted attempt at a game or two, but Kara’s not really into it. She’s worried about Alex, and there’s still part of her brain thinking about Cat, and Cat’s mouth, and Cat’s perfectly sculpted cheekbones.

When the place empties out, Alex stays. Kara dodges her questions until she finally asks, “Why do you need to know every single thing about me? Aren’t I allowed to have anything that’s just for myself?”

Alex blinks at her, eyes wide.

“It’s nothing that will affect my ability to fly, or save lives, or help you out at the DEO, or fight aliens as they land on earth. It’s something personal and it’s mine to have. I don’t want to talk to you about it, and I’m not going to share it with you just because you won’t leave my apartment. Okay?”

With a sigh, Alex hugs her, and it’s a really good hug, one she didn’t know she needed. “I’m sorry, Kar. I’m just concerned. You can have a secret, I just wanted to make sure you’re not hurting.”

Kara grips her tightly. “I’m not hurting. I’m just thinking about some new things, that’s all. I’ll tell you when I’m ready, okay?”

Nodding, Alex relaxes in her embrace. “Promise?”

“Yep,” Kara replies, pressing her head to Alex’s.

“Good.” She casts her eyes around the kitchen, which is appropriately messy. “You want a hand with clean up?”

“Totally,” Kara says, and they get to work.

Alex stays a little longer, which ends up being a nice distraction. “You’ll be at your check in Tuesday as planned, right?”

“Barring disaster, absolutely.”

“Okay. You keep your chin up, Kar. I really hope you’re okay.”

“I am. I’ll text you tonight. I’m starting ‘Person of Interest.’”

“Cool.” Kisses are exchanged, and then Kara’s apartment is empty and quiet. 

After an hour of doing everything she can to keep away from her computer, she finally relents and opens the screen. But this time she doesn’t go to tumblr, or her new fanfiction addiction. She goes instead to google search, looking for “Cat Grant.”

She examines every photo she can find. 

She’s seen all these pictures before; she’s admired Cat for as long as she’s been in Kara’s orbit. She watched her talk show during its run, read all the articles she could from the Daily Planet, devoured every issue of Catco since its launch. But somehow, it feels like she’s never looked closely enough at Cat’s face. She peers deeply into eyes that sometimes seem green, and other times brown, and other times even gold. 

When she looks at the clock and realizes it’s past 10, she has an awful thought: she has to go to work tomorrow. She has to see Cat. Miss Grant. In person. And she has to act like everything is the same as it has always been.

She is so screwed.

\---

The good thing is that Cat has a new assistant.

The bad thing is that said new assistant has only been on board two weeks, and occasionally she begs Kara to pick up Cat’s latte when she’s handling other urgent projects. 

Today happens to be one of those days.

“I swear, this will be the only time this week,” Sonya pleads, and Kara is this close to saying she’s too busy, but she has two emails in her inbox and no phone messages. 

“Okay. Just today.”

Kara heads to Noonan’s. She’s very slow to place her order, and practically saunters back to the office. If she times it just right, she’ll miss Cat’s arrival, and that’s what she wants. It’s what she needs. She’ll just leave the latte with Sonya and go back to her desk and enjoy her own iced version of the same drink. And if, while she’s sipping it, she’s imagning how Cat’s mouth would taste just like this if they kissed, well, that’s no one’s fault but Sonya’s, right?

But Kara realizes the moment she’s out of the elevator that she’s made a mistake, because she was thinking about those kisses. Cat’s elevator is already in motion, so by the time she arrives at Sonya’s desk, Cat’s elevator opens, and Kara is so.totally.done for.

Cat’s wearing plum. It’s a dress. It hugs every curve, and shows the lines of her collarbones without revealing even a hint of cleavage. Her hair is a golden halo around her head, her skin glowing as if she’s literally just come from a facial that set her back another ten years.

Kara catches sight of her knees and barely prevents her eyes from rolling back in her head. 

Cat snatches the latte from her hand, not noticing the tizzy Kara is in. Cat’s talking but there’s a roaring in Kara’s ears and she only survives the moment when she realizes that Sonya’s chasing after her, iPad in hand, transcribing every word. 

She comes back to herself when Winn bumps her shoulder. “Hey. You okay?”

Kara blinks at him as if waking from sleep. “What?”

He immediately looks concerned. “Geez, Kara, what’s wrong with you? Looks like you just witnessed… something bad. Alien invasion, or a visit from Max Lord, or--”

“I’m fine. Gotta go.” Kara only just remembers not to use her superspeed to get back to her office, and instead just walks quickly away. 

When she notices Winn following her, she understands she should have used her superspeed after all. “Can’t get away from me that easy,” he quips as he trails after her. Once they are at her office, she takes a seat at her desk and opens her computer. “Seriously, Kara, I’m only worried about you. You almost looked sick or something.”

 _Yeah_ , she thinks. _Heartsick_.

“I’m not sick. I just-- had a weird night,” she admits. “Guess I’m my version of tired. I’m good.” She’s going to have to get a lot better at hiding this thing unless she wants to reveal her suddenly intense sexual crush on her boss to her entire family, every Catco employee, and probably the entire world if she’s not careful.

Winn departs with a confused expression, but otherwise she escapes unscathed.

Two hours later, she gets a call from Alex, does a quick change and uses the stairway to the roof so quickly no one notices. She is once again grateful for the privacy Cat has afforded her with this particular office space. She might not have a window, but she’s isolated when she wants to be yet still has time to visit the sunnier section of the building whenever she pleases. Plus, no one bothers her with questions (except Sonya) or asks how her weekend was unless she puts herself out there as available. 

The rescue is an easy one; a tourist ferry hauling a few hundred passengers started taking on water and sinking. All Kara does is tow the boat back to the harbor and hold the thing up while everyone unloads. She does her best to stay out of the spotlight and is back before lunch.

Her hair is just barely dry when, without warning, Cat swings inside her office, talking as though they’re continuing a conversation Kara was not part of before now. “I’ve worn this dress before, Kara, is there a stain on it that I’m not aware of or something? Because that was very odd.”

Kara stands up, and in the process, knocks her iced latte not just off the desk, but against the wall, where it spatters half melted ice and the remnants of her drink all over the fresh paint.

“Um, Miss Grant. What are you doing here?” Kara looks quickly at the mess on the wall.

Cat blinks once. “I own the building. I can go wherever I want, which includes this office. I am also your boss, although I'm no longer your direct report, I still consider you one of my many minions.” Her eyes narrow further. “Are you ill? Do you need your glasses replaced? Your eyes checked? Because you looked at me... oddly this morning. I didn't like it and I want you to stop it.”

“I don't know what you mean, Miss Grant,” Kara says, shoving her glasses a little higher on her face. “I'll clean up the mess.”

“I mean you haven't looked afraid of me for nearly two years, and this morning, you did. I thought we... “ she makes a motion with her hand, indicating the space between them--” had worked out whatever was wrong between us. Then you know, I promoted you, and gave you a new job, and more money, and stopped screaming your name every thirty seconds--”

At that, Kara feels the hot flush of lust course through her. Her neck goes scarlet, and she cringes. Damn those stupid stories.

Cat stops, tilting her head. “You are ill. Come here, you look as though you have a fever.” She reaches out with the back of her hand, and Kara actually rears back so hard she falls against the desk and keels over sideways. She's left kneeling, staring at the empty Noonan's cup, tipped over and leaking the last of her ice onto the carpet. In an instant she's back on her feet, laughing it off. “Oops, no I'm not sick. I'm totally, totally fine.” She clears her throat, looking at a spot just over Cat's shoulder, so it's not obvious that she can't even look her boss in the face anymore without wanting to make out with her.

“Your eyes look funny,” Cat starts, until Kara's phone rings and she lurches toward it.

“Oh, it's my 2:00 with the development team. I really should take it. Don't you think I should take it?” Kara pleads.

Once more, Cat's eyes zero in on her, squinting. “This isn't over,” she barks, and turns to depart. She slams the door on her way out, and Kara slumps into her seat and grabs the phone.

\---

Three days later, Kara caves. She's spent almost all her time at Catco avoiding Cat, and is only partially successful. She's distracted, irritable, and at least mildly aroused 24 hours a day. On Wednesday night after nearly beating the latest Fort Rozz escapee that surfaced into near pulp, Alex drags her into a conference room at the DEO.

“Okay, Kara, this is starting to affect your work. Not that I have any complaints about how that particular capture went down, but you aren't yourself. You're angry, and upset, and that makes me angry and upset. So please, talk to me.”

Kara turns her face skyward and sighs. “Fine.” She does a quick sweep of the room to make sure she's not being listened to by anyone but Alex. When it comes up clean, she says flatly, “I've been having sex fantasies about my boss.”

Alex's eyebrows fly up. “Uh, oh. That is not at all what I expected you to say.”

“Yeah, we'll that's it. So I just need to get over it.”

Alex smiles, and curls up into the chair at the head of the conference table. “So tell me about these sex fantasies, and exactly who you're having them about. I haven't met your new boss, is he hot?”

Kara is horrified at the thought of having fantasies about her actual boss, Randall, or his boss, Michelle. Or either of her two compatriots on the team. “What?”

“Isn't his name Randy or something? He seems nice when you've talked about him. What started all these--”

“I'm not talking about Randall.”

Alex looks confused. “Then who are we talking about?”

Kara takes another deep breath. “Cat.”

Alex's expression does not change. “I'm sorry, did you just say the word 'cat,' as in you just saw a cat scurry across your line of sight? That is really the only explanation of you saying that word in this context. Because Cat Grant is definitely someone you should not be having sex fantasies about, not to mention the fact that she's a straight woman who is – well – a person who was not very nice to you for a long time, like years, Kara, and she only just started saying your name correctly. That is just, unacceptable!” Alex commands. “I want you to stop it, right now!”

“I'm trying. I can't help it. I just want – I want –“ _I want to fuck her into next Tuesday._

“Oh my God, don't even tell me what you want!” Alex says, covering her ears and shutting her eyes. “You're giving me bad thoughts. She's a mean person, Kara. I know she has her moments, but generally you two have not had the smoothest relationship. Remember all those months she made you so miserable?”

Kara stares at her, melancholy. “I know. And looking back it's pretty obvious I was miserable because she pulled away from me, and I just want to be closer.” She covers her face with both hands. “I still do,” she mumbles from behind her hands. “I want her. And I'm not sure what to do.”

Alex's ire fades a little with that. “Maybe it's some kind of... sex phase thing Kryptonians have. Like a dog going into heat.” Kara makes a face. “Can you ask Clark?”

“Oh my gosh, I am not in heat!” Kara wishes she had a piece of paper she could ball up and throw into Alex's face. “And it's not just sex. I want, you know, the other stuff too. Cuddling. Making breakfast together. Flying with her, following the sunset so it lasts and lasts...” She trails off, just thinking about holding Cat in her arms as the sun dips along the horizon.

“Are you thinking about having sex with her right now?” Alex interrupts. “Because if you are you need to cut that shit out. I won't allow my sister to think about sex while she's in the same room with me.”

 _Too late by three days_ , Kara thinks, but says, “No, I'm not thinking about sex. I'm thinking romantic things. And I am so dead, because Cat is probably the least romantic human alive.”

But really, Kara's not so sure about that. Cat is the kind of person who shows affection through action (like packing up Kara's desk and throwing her into a new office), but she's also been extremely open with her compliments given the right circumstances. Like, impending doom. But still, she says nice things that Kara has nice memories of, when her voice gets soft and low, and she's right up close, sometimes close enough to--

Fingers snap in front of Kara's eyes. Alex is frowning right into her face. “You have to snap out of this, Kara. You keep drifting off, and it's not like you. What if something really serious happens and you can't focus? I mean, today everything worked out, but what if next week you're off with your dreamy thoughts and some alien kills you? I will be very, very pissed if that happens.”

“I know, I know,” Kara knows. “What do you think I should do? I mean, has anything like this ever happened to you?”

“Not exactly, but I have some advice.” She leans closer. “You're probably not going to want to hear it, but I think you should take it seriously.”

“Anything. I'll try anything at this point.”

“You need to tell her.”

“No!” Kara shouts, then glances around. “I mean, no! No, no, no. No way.”

“You have to.”

“I do not!” Kara replies. “What good would it do anyway? It would just make me look like a bigger dummy than I do around her all the time, and she'd... I don't know. She'd laugh in my face, or worse, fire me. Although laughing in my face would be pretty bad.” She imagines that briefly, and shuts her eyes. “I'd rather live in the fantasy than let it be over.” It hurts Kara's heart to consider that kind of rejection. “I don't mind never being with her. I just don't want her to know how I feel. I can still be close to her, take care of her the way I used to, and she can be none the wiser.”

Alex shakes her head. “That's not healthy for you, Kara. You're not the kind of person who can hide her feelings very well. You might have a secret identity but it's not like you're very good at keeping it secret.” She pauses, thinking. “Is there any way you can sort of hint at it, or talk around it to get a feel for how she'd react?”

Kara snickers. “Oh, you mean something like, 'Hey, have you ever had an employee have non-stop sex fantasies about you without it causing you any trouble?'” But in saying the words, she has a thought. It hadn't even occurred to her to bring up, but maybe... maybe there is a way. “Oh,” she says. “Oh. I actually have an idea.”

“You do?” Alex is surprised. “What is it?”

“Um, I'd rather keep it to myself for now,” Kara hedges, “because I might not be able to make it work.” Or have the guts to say it out loud. “But it's something.”

“Better than nothing,” Alex agrees, and reaches out a hand. Kara takes it. “Hate to see you heartbroken, Kar. Especially over... her.”

“Hey, she's been really wonderful lately. She's a great boss and mentor, and you know all the good that the company does that goes unsung—all of that is because of her leadership. And she's so good with Carter, and she--”

“She's practically perfect in every way,” Alex intones, cracking up along with Kara.

Still laughing, Kara smiles, leaning her head on one hand. “I know she's not perfect. She's just... right. Right for me.”

There's a long silence between them. “She does bring out the best in you,” Alex says softly. “I know how much she's inspired you. Especially with Myriad. And I thought she'd be the kind of person to hold a grudge after you almost killed her, but she seemed to get over that really fast.”

“She did. Right away, she believed in me, like she always had. Maybe more.”

Alex nods. “Maybe she's not so bad.”

“Yeah.” Kara sighs. “She's not so bad.”

\---

By Friday, Kara can tell that Cat has had it. Kara's still having dreams and thoughts and ideas about all the ways that would please Cat Grant, but the initial shock seems to have worn off, and it's not so hard to hide her reaction anymore. But Kara had caught Cat staring twice yesterday, as Kara stood with Winn at his desk, strategizing about hanging onto their Super Secret office space when a few new employees start in two months.

On Friday, Kara has decided that if Cat wants to know what's up, she'll tell her. Partially, anyhow. So when the door bursts open at 10:15 sharp, right after Kara wraps up her daily editorial meeting, the rest of her co-workers bolt for the door with terrified looks on their faces. Kara just nods in acceptance, and watches the door drift shut. She's trapped now in this small space, with the biggest personality in the city, staring her down.

“Okay, _Keira_ ,” Cat hisses, “What is wrong with you?”

Kara stands, fingers laced together. “Right, okay. I expected this. Why don't you, um, sit down?” she asks, motioning awkwardly to the chair in front of the desk. For once, Cat acquiesces, stretching out and crossing her elegant legs. Kara glances at her ankles, watching the way they lead down to the arch of her foot, just visible in today's Manolos. “So, over the weekend, I was doing some research, I mean, I was looking things up, for work, you know, because I started monitoring competitive sites like you told me to last month--”

“You're supposed to do that at work, not on your off time,” Cat snaps.

Kara continues as if she hadn't said anything. “--and I found some things online that I, um, don't think you'd be happy about it. So I was nervous about telling you, and now I guess I have to tell you, because you know something's wrong--”

“Spit. It. Out.”

Putting her fears aside, Kara begins with, “Did you know people are writing things about you?” She says the words so quickly it's a wonder Cat even understands her.

Cat frowns. “Is this a trick question?”

“No,” Kara says.

Cat rolls her eyes. “Of course they write things about me. I'm an incredibly famous person. I'm in the news daily.”

“Oh,” Kara realizes that she's misspoken. “I don't mean news. I mean like, fiction. Fictional things about you. On the internet. About you, and um, other people.”

“I can't control every piece of media, _Keira_. Gossip rags always get the story wrong--”

“No!” Kara says, growing more frustrated. “I mean _sexy_ things about you and other people!” she finally shouts. “Stories about you and other people falling in love and weird things like that!”

The room is silent, and Cat is speechless. But that lasts only for a few moments. “Oh! You mean fanfiction. Yes, I know.” She almost looks smug. Pleased, even. “Anyone in the public eye is can be romanticized in such a way. I don't mind. I never have.”

“You what?” Kara cries. “You know?”

“Of course I do!”

“But-- but--”

“If you're worried about that threesome story about me and Ellen and Portia, I left a comment on it about some questionable grammar, but overall it was well done. Although obviously I'm not a pillow queen.”

Kara is the one speechless this time.

“Is that not the one you mean?” Cat asks, and she seems amused. “Is there something new that I should be aware of? I thought everyone was over the idea that Rafael Nadal and I were having an affair. We weren’t, by the way. We just had drinks.”

Kara swallows. “Um. I—I don't know what to--”

“I haven't checked fanfiction.net for a long time, the quality went way down some time ago, but an Archive of Our Own is usually the best source.” She's already on her phone, typing quickly into a tiny search bar, and all of a sudden Kara wants to take back this entire conversation, and disappear into the ground. Isn't there some sort of disaster she needs to handle?

“Cat... Grant,” she's mumbling to herself. “Hmm, this is..,” Her eyes pop open. “498 stories featuring Cat Grant and Supergirl?” Her expression is filled with glee. “What’s our ship name? It must be here somewhere… Oh, that is just too good.” Her fingers wave wildly in excitement. “ _Supercat._ Oh, yes, this is marvelous. Other Lane must be enraged.”

Kara is confused, then realizes she's talking about Lois, and probably her baby cousin, and that there might be fanfiction about them, too. She's suddenly mortified. “Marvelous? Why would you think that? People are writing sex stories about you and--” she comes severely close to saying _me_ , but chokes out, “Supergirl. Doesn't that make you feel, I don't know, weird?”

“No,” Cat says succinctly. “I'm flattered, as any beautiful, brilliant, ego-driven woman would be. I've only been featured a few dozen times over the years, but almost five hundred stories? That's practically an OTP!” she crows.

Kara feels as if she really has entered an alternate reality. Maybe the Black Mercy is back, and she's trapped in dream world. “What's an OTP?” Kara asks weakly, not sure she wants to know.

“One true pairing,” Cat replies offhandedly, scrolling through the listings on AO3. “This is too many for me to go through,” she mutters, completely focused.

“I can't believe you're not upset.”

Cat suddenly remembers Kara is there, standing in front of her. “And I can't believe you are.” She smirks, and the quirk of her luscious mouth makes Kara want to kiss that look right off her face. “Why would you be so upset that I'm the subject of these stories? You're not involved in any way. They're about me, and _Supergirl_.”

Kara swallows. She hadn't considered the potential direction of this conversation very thoroughly.

“Are you jealous?”

“Huh?” Kara squeaks.

Cat's eyebrow rises, and she leans back in her chair. Her eyes have turned sultry, and the room is ten degrees warmer. She watches Kara, and the wheels are turning in her head; Kara can tell that she's making connections in seconds that lesser mortals would miss altogether. Only moments pass before Cat comes to some sort of decision. “Kara, I have a favor to ask.”

“Okay?” Kara replies, very, very nervous.

“I want you to read these stories, and report back to me with a list of the best.”

Kara weakly slumps against the desk. “You what?”

“I want a top ten list. You've got a good eye. Go through them and give me links to the best of the bunch. That won't be too difficult, will it?”

“But...” Kara feels as though she has dug her own grave. Literally. She can hardly breathe. “But they're—there's some explicit material in some of them--”

“Oh, you can scroll right by that, can't you? You don't have to read every word, just the--”

“But you don't even seem surprised that they're writing you paired with a woman.”

“Well, I am bisexual, so of course I wouldn't care about that.” She blinks slowly at Kara, who has completely lost control of the conversation. As if she ever has control of anything when Cat Grant is in the picture. “But I would like to reiterate something,” Cat continues, standing, rolling her head on her delicate shoulders. Kara can smell her perfume, plus the scent that is _Cat_ in her mind, just _Cat_ and _good_ and _wonderful._ “This is a request, not a requirement. You won't lose your job if you say no.” She steps closer, and Kara really does stop breathing. “As I said, this is a favor. You're very good at doing favors for me, or you were. Can't you do this one little thing for me?”

And for split second, Kara's nose detects something else; something darker, and sweeter, something honeyed that makes her mouth water. It's a part of Cat that she's never smelled before, and it makes her whole body heat in reaction. Her eyes droop, and Cat notices right away, because her mouth softens, and she licks her lips.

 _Oh boy_ , Kara thinks. _I don't know if this is good or bad._ “Sure,” she says, and Cat smiles widely in response, canary already caught between her teeth.

\---

Twelve hours go by.

Kara has no work to do on this favor; she had already bookmarked her favorites on an AO3 account she formed immediately upon discovery of the stories. She’s also sorted everything in order of kudos, bookmarks, comments, and viewed, and discerned a complete list that just about matches her favorites too, so she feels like she’s finished her list. She does, however, eliminate the stories that are primarily sexual. She couldn’t bear to know that Cat would know that she’d read erotica about anyone, much less herself. (That was pretty good on Cat’s part, inferring that Kara wasn’t involved. Very smooth. Cat’s always been quick on her feet.)

Kara doesn’t reread anything; all the good parts are still fresh in her mind. Instead, she relives the moment Cat’s eyes darkened. It was a side of her she thought she’d never seen, until she carded through a handful of other memories, some fresh and some nearly forgotten. Turns out, she has seen that look in Cat’s eyes before. Usually on the balcony at work, sometimes over a drink at dinner, sometimes late at night, when they were alone in the office. She just hadn’t recognized it as desire, because why on earth would Cat Grant desire someone as simple and unassuming as Kara Danvers? Even before she’d known, or suspected she was Supergirl, Kara had seen that look. 

How long has this been going on? Is Kara just too blind, or too busy to see what’s right in front of her?

Saturday night, Kara gets a text. _Chop chop._

She responds: _I have your list. When would you like me to send it over?_

She waits. She waits a long time. When the reply comes, she gets very warm between her legs. _I’d prefer you deliver it in person, so we can discuss your decisions. For the sake of your professional growth._

_Yes, Miss Grant. I’ll be right over._

Kara takes a shower. She shaves her legs and does a little grooming _down there_. She puts on her tightest jeans, a white tank, and a white button up shirt over it. She wears little flats and her glasses, but she leaves her hair down. 

If they’re going to play a game, Kara wants to have whatever advantages she possibly can.

She’s a blur waiting for the door to open at Cat’s building; the doorman feels only a slight breeze when she races inside, disappearing into the stairwell without even a camera seeing her. There’s a camera outside Cat’s door, but it’s attached to her personal security system rather than the building’s, so she doesn’t mind appearing on that recording. She clears her throat, and knocks on the door.

There’s a long wait before it swings open. “I didn’t get a call from security saying you were here,” Cat says, tilting her head.

Kara shrugs. “Really? I registered on the guest list downstairs and everything. Bill must have forgotten.”

“Ah,” Cat says, turning and leaving the door open as an invitation to follow. Kara does, locking the door on her way in. She throws the extra deadbolt too. 

She watches Cat move through her home, dressed in jeans less formal than Kara’s; these look like they might be from ten years ago, low-rise with holes in the knees and one tear strategically placed across the back of her left upper thigh. They are faded and look as soft as the white v-neck tee shirt she’s wearing. Somehow, she makes this ensemble look as though she belongs in a magazine spread titled, “What to Wear on the Best Weekend Ever.”

Kara follows her to a living room, furniture and walls primarily in whites and creams, but with splashes of color in pillows and blankets draped over the sofas and chairs. “Where’s Carter?”

“Boy scout weekend excursion. His father is chaperoning.”

“I’m sure Carter’s really enjoying that.”

“So he says. I’ve gotten a few texts. Pictures of insects, mostly, and a garden snake.”

“Sounds nice.” She watches Cat take a seat, motioning for Kara to follow. She does, sitting in a comfortable arm chair across from Cat on the sofa. They’re watching each other carefully; Kara has butterflies in her stomach, but Cat looks as implacable as ever. 

“So, did you find anything interesting?”

“A few things. Do you have a computer I can access?”

“Mm,” Cat says, and reaches for the Mac on the coffee table. She logs in and hands it over to Kara. 

Without saying much, Kara goes to her own email and accesses the collection she made earlier. She copies the list onto a word document, closes out her account and clicks the first link. This one is her favorite of all of them; it’s heavy on romance, with two excellent love scenes, and includes a flight scene when Kara rescues Cat from a fire. It feels incredibly strange to say that she enjoyed reading a story about fantasy versions of herself and the woman in front of her, but she did. She doubts Alex would get it; she doubts anyone but Cat would understand it in the least. But when she hands the computer over to Cat, she has no idea what will come next.

She does not expect Cat to sit there and start reading. But she does. 

Five minutes in, Kara asks, “Should I, um, be doing anything?”

“I’ll take a glass of the Barolo on the kitchen counter. I took it out of the wine fridge a little while ago, so it’s probably the right temperature now. Pour some for yourself if you like. I have dinner coming at 7:30.”

“Dinner?”

“Mm,” Cat murmurs again, back into the story.

Kara does as Cat asks, pouring a generous glass for her, and a small one for herself. She does like the taste once in awhile, and this seems like a good opportunity. Cat drinks generously from the glass without even looking up from the screen, and Kara’s listening for any strange upticks in her heartbeat as she reads. It feels a little bit like cheating, but she is off balance, and excited, and uncomfortable, so the consistency of the thump-thump is more of a comfort than anything.

About ten minutes later, she hears the pick up. What’s interesting, is that as Cat’s heart rate speeds, so does Kara’s. She feels the change in the air between them, staring at her own phone, pretending to scroll through facebook. She’s not looking at anything at all, though. She’s listening, and the heart she’s listening to tells a story of its own.

There is forty five minutes of silence between them before Cat leans back and finishes her glass of wine. She glances at the clock, and as though she’d mentally commanded it, the cell on the side table rings and she picks it up. “Yes, Bill, send him up.” She peers at Kara. “Dinner’s here.”

“Oh,” Kara says, and licks her lips. She is pretty hungry.

The meal is Indian, and Cat ordered what looks like half the menu. It’s mostly a vegetarian feast, but there’s some lamb vindaloo, and chicken tikka masala that Cat doesn’t sample herself. She sticks to the vegetable curry and naan, with a samosa to start. And she never says a word about the fact that Kara herself goes through at least three dishes completely on her own. In fact, they barely say a word to each other during the meal, other than, “ Good,” or “Pass that over here,” or “Can you get me another samosa?”

When the scant leftovers are boxed up (Kara didn’t want to eat everything, although she could have), she and Cat settle back in the living room. “So,” Cat says, sipping from a fresh glass of wine. “What was it about that story that you liked?”

Kara was hoping there wouldn’t be a quiz, but it looks like she’s wrong. “Well, it was well paced, and, I don’t know, fun. Nothing too heavy, or scary. Angst is very popular with this, um, pairing. Lots of rescues and near death experiences. I don’t want to read about those things.” Mostly because living through them is hard enough, but she doesn’t mention that. Besides, the stories are not like reality. The agony Kara feels when she can’t save someone is something she cannot put into words. She appreciates the empathy, though.

“And what did you think of the Cat in the story?”

“She’s nothing like you,” Kara says, hoping this isn’t the wrong thing to say. “She’s much...simpler. She looks like you, and that’s about it. But that would make sense, right? These authors only know you from hearsay, or your talk show, or your own writing. That doesn’t paint a picture of a real person. It’s… it’s a facade, one of your own making.”

“So why like it?” Cat prods, always digging, always curious.

“I already told you, because it’s a nice, light romance that has a happy ending. Doesn’t everyone like that?”

“I’m interested, Kara, to know what exactly you think of me, now that you’ve read all these stories now. Have they changed your opinion of ‘the real me’?”

 _Yes_ , Kara thinks. She says, “No. You’re still same person you were. They have no effect on me whatsoever.”

“And what _is_ your opinion of me? These stories are superficial, but who am I to you?”

“I’ve told you before, Miss Grant. You’re an amazing mentor, an inspiration, someone who always drives me to be my best, and do my best. You’re--”

“You’re talking around the question. I’m not asking what I make you feel about yourself. I’m asking you to describe me, apart from you.”

Kara starts getting more nervous, and not in a good way. “You’re brilliant, and driven. You, uh--”

Cat interrupts her. “You once described me as mean. That hasn’t gone away, even if I’m slightly less mean to you these days.”

“You can be mean, but only when you’re having a bad day,” Kara says, hoping to move past this one. “You’re sharp-tongued, and you don’t have time for people who don’t contribute in a constructive way to your goals. That’s not a bad thing,” Kara adds, pushing her hair behind her ear. “You’re a loving mother, and a caring, generous friend--”

“How would you know that?” Cat asks.

“I opened your mail for two years, Miss Grant. You received a lot of thank you notes at the office for things I had nothing to do with. Flowers and gifts and donations that you made yourself. Um,” Kara hesitates, but pushes forward, “You don’t sleep well, you can drink too much if things aren’t going your way. You’re anxious. But at the same time, you’re totally fearless. So in that way, you’re… a conundrum.”

Cat’s eyebrow lifts. “A conundrum.”

“A good conundrum. An unsolvable puzzle; always surprising, always fascinating.” Cat seems to appreciate that description even more. “You get angry but you mask it. We’ve talked a lot about that,” she says, remembering the afternoon they spent together when Cat's mother visited, dissecting anger. “And you’re, you know, pretty.” Kara actually winces. It sounds so weak compared to what she really believes.

“Pretty,” Cat repeats, leaning forward.

Kara instinctively leans back. “Yeah.” She can feel herself wanting to cringe; she can’t tell if she’s doing a good job hiding it or not.

But Cat has glommed onto something, and she moves forward out of her seat. “There,” she says, pointing to Kara’s face. “That’s what I’ve been looking for. You’ve been making that face all week. You say I’m pretty, but then you make that face. Why?”

Kara shoves her glasses a little higher on her nose, then realizes she needs to watch that nervous tic. It’s her worst tell. Although probably not worse than cringing when describing her boss’s indescribable beauty. “I’m not sure what you mean--”

“Why are you afraid to tell me I’m pretty? I know I am. I’ve heard it all my life. But--” Cat watches her for a long moment. “Are you lying?”

“No!” Kara says, and stands up, starting to pace. “I’m not lying at all! You are pretty, I mean, it’s a fact. You have the nicest face, nicest everything, ever. You look good no matter what you wear, even jeans and a tee shirt. Maybe even better in that. Your body is,” Kara stumbles over the words, “beautiful, and everything about you is gorgeous. Okay? You’re gorgeous. Can we stop talking about this now?”

“Kara, come over here,” Cat commands, and like a robot, Kara heeds her call. “Closer,” Cat says, beckoning with one finger. Kara leans down, and Cat pulls her glasses off, setting them on the side table. Kara closes her mouth, and tries not to drown in eyes that definitely seem green from this distance. “That’s what’s been funny about your eyes. They’re dark. Because your pupils are wider than usual. You know why human pupils dilate?”

Kara shakes her head. “It can be in response to stress, or intense thought. You could be in pain, or high on drugs. Are you stoned, Kara?” Cat asks, and her voice is so soft, so smooth, Kara simply shakes her head. “I didn’t think so. It can also indicate sexual arousal. Did you know that?”

 _I’m not human_ , Kara thinks. _Do my eyes do that too?_

“But you’re not human, so I can’t be a hundred percent sure I’m right. But say, if I kissed you right now, with your consent, would you kiss me back?”

Kara swallows. She doesn’t think this is a trick question. This is real, and it’s happening. After a moment of hesitation, she nods. And when Cat Grant’s hand comes up to tangle in her hair, Kara shuts her eyes and tries not to fall to her knees when Cat’s lips press against hers. A second later, she pulls away. “I’m not human?” Kara squeaks.

“I can’t believe you’re worried about that at a time like this,” Cat says, lips wet from their kiss. She drags Kara back in for more, and this time Kara does lose her balance and land on her knees, taking Cat’s head between her hands. Their mouths fit together, Cat’s lower lip like magic between hers, slanting and sliding as Kara gets lost in it. Cat makes a noise in the back of her throat that goes right between her legs. She pulls Cat forward, feeling the strength of the thighs that wrap around her body. _Yes_ , is all she can think. _Yes, yes, yes_.

Cat’s tongue touches hers and everything is a whirl around her, and Cat is hot in her arms, her skin burning wherever Kara can feel it. She slips a hand beneath Cat’s ass, like she’s been dreaming about for a week, and squeezes very, very gently, only to feel legs tighten around her. “Is that okay?” Kara asks, and Cat’s nodding, her human heart like thunder in Kara’s ears. “You really want this?” 

Cat’s still nodding. “Took you long enough to figure it out,” she mumbles against Kara’s mouth. “My rule stays true, only this time, I was the lighthouse, and you came into my port.” She smirks. “You’re not very bright when it comes to romance. I suppose it’s the fact that you’re an alien,” she says, mouth curving in a sly smile before fastening to Kara’s throat and sucking, hard. Cat bites, and Kara yelps in pleasure. She really feels that, and it’s good. “No bruise,” Cat breathes against her skin. “I feel confident there are going to be unexpected benefits to sex with a superhero.” She goes in for another bite, and Kara throws her head back as teeth rake down to her collarbone. Cat is not a gentle lover. 

She wants to deny the alien thing, plead her humanity, make Cat believe, but she can’t think properly with her arms full of this person she wants so desperately, and when their lips meet again, Kara’s so far gone she doesn’t bother. If she’s going to be in love, she’s got to tell the truth. “Are we going to have sex?” Kara asks as Cat’s unbuttoning her shirt.

That stops Cat’s progress, and their eyes meet. “We don’t have to.” Cat’s warm fingers slip back up to play against Kara’s neck. “We don’t have to do anything you don’t want to. This is not a requirement,” she adds, and Kara likes that. “If we, well, get involved, at least it’s better now that I’m not your direct boss. But soon, I’ll have to disclose our relationship.”

“Why?”

“Legal protection for Catco. And for you, and me. It’s policy. Anyone who has a romantic relationship in the same department must disclose it. Although technically I’m senior management, I’m connected to every single employee in the building, so in theory we shouldn’t even be doing this.” Despite her words, Cat kisses her, and Kara feels her heart swell with affection. “But our policy doesn’t include significant difference in rank as forbidden. It never has. I don’t believe in that. If it seems like favoritism, it can be addressed. It might, with us.”

“We’ll make sure it doesn’t,” Kara says, unable to believe that Cat would even consider going public after exactly five minutes of necking. “We don’t have to tell anyone for a while, do we?”

Cat shakes her head. “I trust you, more than anyone in my life. I trust you _with_ my life,” she says, and Kara pulls her close again. Their kiss is like fire racing down Kara’s back, and she arches as Cat’s fingers rake along her spine. “If we aren’t going to have sex, we should set some ground rules,” Cat gasps after pulling away. “What are your--”

“Who said we weren’t going to have sex?” Kara asks, and Cat’s eyes light up.

“No one?” Cat asks.

“I think we are,” Kara says, and decides to show off. She floats up and Cat grabs onto her a little more tightly. “Which way to your room?”

“Oh, now this is definitely interesting,” Cat says. Kara stretches out and rotates so she’s on the bottom, and Cat is laughing as she steers them out of the living room and down the hall to the second door on the left. Inside, the walls are light, the windows covered in flowing curtains that in the morning Kara knows will let the sunrise in. “Don’t drop me,” Cat warns her.

“I won’t,” Kara says, remembering that night where she did drop Cat, and wishing she could forget that moment, and that entire week. 

“Stop thinking about that,” Cat says knowingly, bringing her back to the present. “It’s over. You’re you again.” She curls her lip. “At least I’ll be able to tell when you’ve been affected by some alien substance next time. It’s hard to miss.”

Kara nods, and lowers herself to the bed. “Yeah.”

“You looked good in those dresses, though,” Cat says, back to the business of undoing Kara’s buttons. “I liked seeing… more of you.” She licks her lips and opens the shirt as if it’s a present. “But I want to see all of you.”

Kara isn’t ashamed of her body in the least, and allows Cat to peel away all her layers till she’s naked and panting. Kara reaches for Cat to pull her tee over her head, and Cat allows it, but she is so focused on touching every part of Kara that she loses her motivation in favor of reveling in the fingers that map her skin. “It’s hard to believe you’re bulletproof,” Cat whispers, trailing her lips along Kara’s belly, up across her ribs. “You are very soft.” When Cat’s mouth covers one breast, Kara arches, throwing her arms open but careful not to grab onto anything. She’s already so close, especially when Cat makes a deep noise of pleasure that vibrates in Kara’s bones. 

“I want to touch you too,” Kara pleads, unsure she’ll be able to hold out long.

“Soon,” Cat assures her, returning to her other breast, this time using her teeth. She bites hard, and Kara cries out, fists clenched. And when Cat’s fingers slide between Kara’s legs, it’s too much, and Kara comes in a flash of white, riding the long wave as Cat slips inside. “God, I feel you,” she sighs.

“So good,” Kara sighs, “Cat, you feel so good.”

A tongue travels up her belly, and Cat’s mouth finds its way to Kara’s in a deep kiss. “You’ll be able to do that again, right?”

Kara smiles. “I have super stamina,” she says, urging Cat to roll over on the bed. “I have lots of special powers.” In a demonstration of speed, she takes less than a second to strip Cat of her clothes. 

Cat laughs, pulling her on top. “That could be very handy,” she says between kisses.

Kara just hums against her, wanting to take her time learning Cat’s body. And she is soft, softer and more pliant than Kara’s own skin, sweet-smelling and human, delicate and tender. Kara is so gentle that Cat has to remind her she won’t bleed at the slightest pressure. “I want to feel you,” Cat demands, pressing Kara’s hands against her breasts, teaching her each thing that feels good. She likes skirting the edge of pain, and Kara feels the flutter of the strong heart beneath flesh and bone. It’s wonderful, and it’s what she always believed sex could be. When she puts her mouth between Cat’s legs, Cat pulls her hair, and when she delves inside carefully with two fingers, Cat pulls harder. She’s not quiet, either, instructing what she needs in such detail that Kara blushes with it. And when Cat comes, Kara watches her face scrunch up, watches her mouth open in an O, watches how she arches so hard her whole body is shaking with pleasure.

Cat Grant does nothing halfway, and that includes having an orgasm. Her heart is so loud in her chest Kara is almost worried, but it slows incrementally as she comes down. And when she collapses on the bed, she’s limp but smiling. “God, what were you doing with your tongue?”

Kara considers the question. “I don’t know, moving it a lot?”

“Oh. Well that explains it,” Cat exhales. “I’m going to call you my little alien vibrator from now on.”

“You will not!” Kara cries, but she is laughing too. “Don’t call me that!”

“It’s a compliment, darling,” Cat says, pulling her further up the bed.

Kara’s heart does a dance in her chest. “I like ‘darling,’ though.”

“Of course you do,” Cat replies, and Kara falls against her. “That was spectacular.”

Kara can hardly believe she is here, in Cat’s bed, nose buried in Cat’s hair. “It really was. It was the best ever,” she adds, before she has a chance to bite back the words.

Cat turns to her, surprised. “Well, you are very young. That wasn’t my best effort, though. Better to start slow and work my way up,” she decides. “I’ll need to know your limits. What you like and don’t like, that sort of thing. With a superhero my creativity might go a little overboard.”

Kara rolls her eyes, grinning shyly. “Stop it,” she says, blushing.

“Seriously, we’ll have to make a list.”

“I’m not making a list.”

“I’ll make it.” She reaches for her jeans and grabs the phone out of it. “Siri, start a new memo.”

“No way!” Kara screeches, stealing the phone and holding it behind her back. “You will not make a sex list on your iPhone.”

“I like goals, Kara, now hand me that phone.”

“Nope. This is one of my limits. No sex lists.” She disappears for a moment, returning a second later, without phone in hand. “I’ll hear it if it rings, don’t worry,” she reminds Cat. “You’ll just have to figure out the rest of my limits one at a time. But I don’t really have any that I know of.”

“No limits?”

“Nope,” Kara says, feeling surprisingly comfortable as she slides back into bed, pressing her body to Cat’s. There’s no awkward afterglow between them. 

“Well, oral sex is already on the roster,” Cat begins. “What’s your opinion on dildos? And if yes, then would you want to wear it or not? Or would you do both?”

Kara covers her face. Maybe it’s a little awkward after all.

\---

In the morning, Kara gets to enjoy one of the fantasies she talked to Alex about: making breakfast. Cat cooks, and very well; Kara eats three Belgian waffles with fresh whipped cream and all the fruit in the apartment. 

They did, in fact, start checking things off the non-existent list during the night. Dildos are a yes, either way; Cat got to be on the receiving end twice and declared that Kara was a natural. And it turns out shower sex is far easier when one of you has super strength, although Kara will be repairing a couple of travertine tiles upon her next visit. That was Cat’s fault, though so she feels no guilt.

Cat is still picking at her own waffle when she asks, “Did you really read all those stories?”

Kara shrugs. “I take my assignments very seriously. But I’d read them all before you asked me to so my top ten list was easy to make.”

“Hmph, I figured,” Cat says in reply. “Now that you have the real thing, do you plan on keeping up with our fandom?”

“No,” Kara says, licking her fingers after swiping syrup from Cat’s plate. “Although I’ll probably assign a google alert in case of any good threesome stories.” 

“Ah,” Cat says in agreement. “Depends on the partner,” she adds, staring up as though pondering potential options. 

Kara laughs, and wonders if she’s smiled so much in the last six months. 

“I should thank James for bowing out so gracefully,” Cat adds, stirring her homemade latte, kept hot by laser vision. “Thought I was out of the running for a while.”

“I care about him. I still do. That’s all, though,” Kara tells her. “It wasn’t like this with him.”

“Like what?” Cat asks, that cute little wrinkle appearing between her brows.

“I don’t know,” Kara says, eyes glued to her empty plate. She wishes she had her glasses on. “Like love, I guess.” She can’t bear to look up, in case she’s overstepped. But she’d kept the words locked up tightly inside all night long, and she might as well get them out. 

“Oh, that,” Cat says. “Well, yes. That’s good.” 

Kara finally peeks over at her, and Cat’s buried in her coffee cup, but she can’t hide the smile in her eyes. When they look at each other, Kara feels that sense of rightness, and rests her head on one hand. “Yeah, it’s good.” 


End file.
